Form-supporting bed for printing-presses.



- Patented Nov. I4, |899. s. wmTLocK.` FORIII SUPPORTING BED FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

(Application led May 23, 1899.)

(No Model.)

TH: Nonms Firms cu. PNoTouTNo.. wmswnawn4 n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT Oratori,

STURGES VHITLOCK, OF SHELTON, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE WHITLOCK MACHINE COMPANY, OF DERBY, CONNECTICUT.

FORNI-SUPPORTING BED FOR PRINTING-PRESSES.

SPECIFICATION' forming part of Letters :Patent No. 637 ,055, dated November 14, 1 899.

Application filed May 23, 1899. Serial No. 717,945. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STURGES WHIrLocK, of Shelton, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Forni-Supporting Beds for Printing- Presses; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in s 'Figure l, a reverse plan view of one form which my improved bed may assume; Fig. 2, a View thereof in front elevation; Fig. 3, a broken sectional view thereof; Fig. 4, a broken plan view of one of the modified forms which the bed may assume; Fig. 5,`a broken sectional view-thereof.

My invention relates to an improvement in form-supporting beds for flat-bed printingmachines, the object being to produce alight and compact bed constructed with particular reference to rigidity andto convenience in securing parts to it.

With these ends'in View my inventionconsists in a form-supporting bed having certain details of construction andcombinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

For the illustration of my invention Ihave chosen to show and describe a form-supporting bed adapted for use in connection with a flat-bed printing-press in which the bed and the form supported by it are moved back and forth beneath a rotating cylinder; but my improved bed is equally applicable for use in that class of presses in which the bed and form are fixed and in which the cylinder moves back and forth over them.

Before proceeding to the description of my improvement it may be well for me to state that heretofore form supporting beds for presses of the kinds described have generally comprised a top plate reinforced by ribs formed upon its lower surface. Ribbed beds of the type described are objectionable because they lack rigidity and yield under the pressure of printing, necessarily to the detriment of the operation of themachine and its product. Obviouslya printing-press requires tension that the beds become objectionable not onlyin size, but also in weight. Furthermore, ribbed beds are always objectionable on account of the diiiculty ot' securing to them the necessary parts-such, for instance, as

the shoes, the rack, and the lugs for the airspring plungers. K

In carrying out my invention, as shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3 of the drawings, I form the box-like bed with a top plate A and a bottom plate B, which, although corresponding in general form to and coextensive with the top plate, is by preference made thicker than the same to en able it to perfectly resist the heavier strain imposed upon it owing to the fact that on account of its position it becomes the eX- tension-plate, as distinguished from the top plate, which is the compression-plate. These two plates are connected together by integral ties located within the space separating the two plates and consisting, as shown, of ribs C and vertical posts D. The said ribs are arranged parallel with the lines on which the shoes E and rack F are attached, the shoes being secured in place by screws c and the rack by bolts and nuts d. The bottom plate is also furnished with depending lugs G G for the attachment of the air spring plungers commonly used with the beds of such presses. The vertical posts D are distributed between the ribs C and will of course be employed in such numbers and such arrangement as found desirable. The edges of the bed are formed by side walls H, which unite the edges of the twoplates. ,The completed bed, in fact, resembles avery shallow box filled to a greater or less extent with braces formed integral with its top and bottom. The holes I in the side walls H of the bed and the holes J in the bottom plate B thereof are incidents in their formation to the process of coring the bed in cast- TOO ing it. They do not, however, sensibly ai"- fect the rigidity of the finished bed.

I have shown the lugs for the air-spring plnngers as cast integral with the bottom of the plate; but it is obvious that they may be lnade independently of and bolted thereto, if preferred.

In the construction shown by Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings the upper plate K and the lower plate L are united by means of transversely-arranged ribs M, which take the place of combined ribs and posts in the construction iirst described. Instead of using ribs and posts combined or ribs alone I might use osts alone or some other form of integral ties or uniting the upper and lower plates. I would therefore have it understood that I do not limit myself to the exact construction herein shown and described, but hold myself at liberty to make such changes as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention. I am aware, however, that skeleton beds, broadly speaking, are old, and also that a prior patent shows a skeleton formsupporting bed for a flat-bed and cylinder printing-press. I do not, therefore, claim such a construction broadly.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A box-like form-supporting bed for atbed printing-presses, comprising an imperforate top plate, a coextensive bottom plate, integral walls uniting the edges of the two plates, integral ties located in the hollow space between the two plates for uniting the same, and including posts and longitudinal and transverse ribs, fastening devices depending from the lower face of the lower plate, and shoes located upon the lower face of the lower plate, parallel with the said longitudinal ribs.

2. A box-like form-supporting bed for liatbed printing-presses, comprising an imperforate top plate, a coextensive bottom plate thicker than the top plate, and integral ties located in the hollow space between the two plates, and uniting lthe same.

3. A box-like form-supporting bed for fiatbed printing-presses, comprising an imperiorate top plate upon which the form is placed, a bottom plate coextensive with the top plate, and integral post-like ties located in the hollow space between the two plates and uniting the same.

4. A box-like form-supporting bed for flatbed printing-presses, comprising an imperforate top plate, a bottom 'plate coextensive therewith, and integral ties located in the hollow space between the two plates for uniting the same, and including posts and ribs.

5. A box-like form-supporting bed for flatbed printing-presses, comprising an imperferate top plate, a coextensive bottom plate, integral walls uniting the extreme edges of the two plates, integral ties located in the hollow space between the two plates for` uniting the same, fastening devices depending from the lower face of the lower plate, and shoes located upon the lower face of the lower plate parallel with the length thereof.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

STURGES WHITLOCK. Witnesses:

WINFIELD S. HUsoN, WALTER RANDALL. 

